Method for altering the configuration of electrical coils of inductive devices



Oct. 29, 1968 w BALDW|N 3,407,486

METHOD FOR ALTBRING THE CONFIGURATION OF ELECTRICAL COILS OF INDUCTIVEDEVICES Original Filed Dec. 10, 1965 10 Sheets-sheet 1 Oct. 29, 1968 W.E. BALDWIN 3,407,486

METHOD FDR ALTERJ'NC THE CONFIGURATION OF ELECTRICAL COILS OI" INDUCTIVEDEVICES Original Filed Dec. 10, 1965 lo Sheets-sheet 2 fm/enza'rVVf/l/aMT Ba/dmh,

Oct. 29, 1968 w. E. BALDWIN 3,407,486

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LOW LEVEL CHARGE CONDITION INVENTOR I IA/ ///'am Ba/aw/n ATTORNEY v Oct.29, 196 8 w. E. BALDWIN 3,407,486

METHOD FOR ALTERING THE CONFIGURATION OF ELECTRICAL COILS OF INDUCTIVEDEVICES Original Filed D60. 10. 1965 I 10 Sheets-Sheet 7 A. C. SUPPLY In38 .H /50 LOW CHARGE LEVEL BRANCH I I ll 72 2 5| 60 I FIRING CONTROLBRANCH 42 =L /83 CHANGE LEVEL'I'C'ONTROL- I 73 5 a BRANCH =M 4 HIGHCHARGE LEVEL I BRANCH I L 08 40 (LOW POINT) BRANCH A I09 HIGH CHARGESENSING (HIGH POINT), BRANCH MZ/ LOW LEVEL CHARGE FIRING CONDITION BY%3-M ATTORNEY LOW CHAR E SENSING -IIS '05 m- (LOW POINT BRANCH 1- M. LOWCHARGE SENSING Ml Q4 (HIGH POINT) BRANCH HIGH C I I I HARGE SENSING Oct.29, 1968 w. E. BALDWIN 3,407,486 METHOD FOR ALTERING THE CONFIGURATIONOF I ELECTRICAL COILS OF INDUCTIVE DEVICES Original Filed Dec. 10, 19651O Sheets-Sheet 8 H L C O G W m L N m mm MW & M N E 8% SN SN E L C E M?w Tim 8% L B O .L R E E) E) E) U E T T G W w N %N %W 0 L A AU AU An v MHH C EH HH H WP HP C C 6 m Cm CW H CW H m m Wm m N N W0 M @B H CB H8 L/Lmm HHHHM O O O 0 0 O 0 w 7 I. 2 3 m 6/ 8/ m w C 5/ a I Y 3 6 H 6 A. 9 TW C 4 w w m m S W= H M 5 w 1 C. A Mm h m l g Q 7 2 WW l I M M LL H H 2HIGH LEVEL CHARGE START CONDITION 4 INVENTOR W/'///'am BG/dlU/f)ATTORNEY OF S METHOD FOR ALTERING THE CONFIGURATION ELECTRICAL COILS OFINDUCTIVE DEVICE l0 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed Dec. 10, 1965 (III -FIRING CONTROL BRANCH HIGH CHARGE SENSING (LOW POINT) BRANCH HIGH CHARGESENSING (HIGH POINT) BRANCH IIO AC. SUPPLY 7| 8| 0 414 ug LOW CHARGELEVEL BRANCH 53 MEL III 2 83 7. I CHANGE LEVEL CONTROL FLL6N BRANCH l I74 GI o A m .HIGHCHARGE LEVEL.

BRANCH GH LEVEL CHARGE FIR ATTORNEY Oct. 29, 1968 w. E. BALDWIN3,407,436

METHOD FOR ALTERING THE CONFIGURATION OF ELECTRICAL COILS OF INDUCTIVEDEVICES Original Filed Dec: 10. 1965 10 sheets'sheet ElE-ull AC SUPPLYIII 58 50 W Low CHARGE LEVEL BRANCH /|I 72 82 /5I /6O L m IFIRINGCONTROL BRANCH 2| 54 83 70 E g CHANGE LEvEL CONTL T BRANCH LL f 52 IARGE LEvEL I20 in, M o C R L w HA GE sENsING /II9 5 m (LOW POINT) BRANCH1 HOP r 3 LOW CHARGE SENSING M (HIGH POINT) BRANCH 30 HIGH CHARGESENSING log a; (LOW POINT) BRANCH 1 A 14 HIGH CHARGE sENsING M2 (HIGHPOINT) BRANCH HIGH LEVEL CHANGE CONDITION INVENTORI IAN/[Om Baldwin BY IATTORNEY United States 3,407,486 METHOD FOR ALTERING THE CONFIGURA- TIONOF ELECTRICAL COILS 0F INDUCTIVE DEVICES William E. Baldwin, Fort Wayne,Ind., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New YorkOriginal application Dec. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 513,028. Divided and thisapplication Sept. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 669,156

6 Claims. (Cl. 29-596) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for effectingelectrical coil transforming operations in which the coil and itsmagnetic core member are arranged in a load circuit having electricalterminals at a first or load circuit connection station, and then aretransported into a second or an enclosed electrical surge supply stationwhere an electrical connection is made with the load circuit through itselectrical terminals to an electrical energy surge supply circuit forinjecting an electrical energy surge into the coil to effect the desiredcoil transformation. At the first station another coil and its magneticcore member are arranged in another load circuit for subsequenttransportation to the second station. This procedure is efficient andeconomical, capable of safe utilization in the mass productionmanufacture of inductive devices, for example motors.

Cross references to related applications This application is a divisionof my co-pending application Serial No. 513,028 filed December 10, 1965.

Background of the invention The present invention relates generally toan improved method for altering the configuration of electrical coilsand to a method for accomplishing this result. More specifically, itrelates to an improved method, suitable for use in the production ofelectrical motors, that can be used efficiently and economically toaccomplish various manufacturing operations on electrical coils of amotor, such as the insertion of the turns of the electrical coil intothe winding slots, compaction of the conductor turns in the windingslots, pressing back of the end turns of the motor winding, and othercoil transforming operations.

In the manufacture of electrical inductive devices, such as magneticstator cores of fractional horsepower motors, it is necessary that anumber of electrical coils be inserted, positioned and packed in thecoil accommodating slots of the magnetic core. Conventionally,mechanical devices have been employed to perform the necessary coiltransforming operations. In the United States Patents 3,333,- 327Larsen;3,333,328Rushing; 3,333,329Linkous; 3,333,330Linkous; and3,333,335-Sims, all assigned to the assignee of the present application,new and improved concepts are disclosed for performing various coiltransforming operations by the utilization of electrical energy ratherthan by brute force techniques.

In some applications of these new coil manufacturing concepts, it isnecessary to inject a plurality of high energy rate pulses or surgesdirectly into the coils of an inductive device or into a coilinductively coupled with the coil. The supply circuits that produce suchhigh energy rate surges are inherently dangerous to operating personnelsince they generally utilize a capacitor bank charged to relatively highvoltages which may range from a thousand to 4,000 voltages. Also, whenthe high energy rate surges are injected in a defective winding, highvoltage flashing may occasionally occur that may create hazards topersonnel. It is therefore desirable that the injection of the 3,407,486Patented Oct. 29, 1968 high energy rate surges be carried out at alocation remote from operators and under conditions to minimize anyelectrical hazard to operating personnel. Since it is desirable that theapparatus be adaptable for use in the mass production of inductivedevices, it should be, of course, capable of eflicient and economicaloperation and should readily be integrated into a manufacturing assemblyline for producing inductive devices.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of my invention to provide animproved method for carrying out manufacturing operations on electricalcoils or portions thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a safe andefiicient method for performing the manufacturing operations on aninductive device, such as, for example, compacting the conductor turnsof coils disposed in the slots of a magnetic core and pressing back endturns.

Summary of the invention Briefly stated, in accordance with one form ofthe present invention, I have provided an improved method for effectinga coil transforming operation on at least one coil of a magnetic coremember which may be efiiciently and economically practiced on a massproduction basis. Initially a first coil and the magnetic core memberare arranged in a first load circuit at a first station, a load circuitconnection station, the load circuit including terminal members adaptedfor connection with an electrical surge supply circuit. The load circuithaving the first coil and magnetic core member therein is transported toa second station, as by a turntable having the first and second stationsdisposed in angularly spaced apart locations.

After the load circuit is enclosed at the second station, an electricalsurge supply or injection station, an electrical connection or couplingis established with an electrical energy surge supply circuit, and atleast one electrical energy surge is injected into the first coil toeffect the desired coil transformation.

At the first station another or second coil and magnetic core member arearranged in another load circuit, and upon completion of the first coiltransformation at the second station, it is transported out of theenclosure to the first station where it is removed and replaced by yetanother coil and magnetic core member. During this transfer the loadcircuit with its associated coil disposed at the first station istransported into the second station for transformation of the coil.

This procedure is eflicient and economical in nature, rapidly andeifectively producing the desired coil transformation by a processcapable of use in the mass production manufacture of electrical devices,for instance, motors. Moreover, in spite of the employment of a surge ofelectrical energy to effect the desired coil-transformation operations,the transformation may be safely achieved. Other advantages and benefitsof the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. My invention, however, both as to organization and methodof operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybe best understood with reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a plan view of apparatuscapable of carrying out one form of my improved method with the plasticglass enclosure at the electrical surge injection station being brokenaway to show the connections and motor stator arrangement at thisstation;

FIGURE 2 is a front view in perspective of the improved apparatusshowing the arrangement at the load circuit connection station;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial side view at the energy pulse injectionstation, partly in cross section and broken away to show details, thewindings of the motor stator being shown before the electrical surgesare discharged through'thecoils of a magnetic core;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view similar to the view shown in FIGURE 3illustrating details of the load circuit at the electrical surgeinjection station, the motor stator coils being shown as they appearafter two energy surges have been applied to the coils.

FIGURE 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of the energy surge supplycircuit;

FIGURE 6 is a simplified schematic diagram of the relay coil controlportion of the electrical surge supply circuit showingthe control relaycontacts and meter relays for the standby condition of the circuit;

FIGURE 7 is a simplified schematic circuit diagram of the relay coilcontrol portion of the electrical surge supply circuit showing thecontrol relay contacts and the meter relay contacts for the low levelcharge condition;

FIGURE 8 is a simplified schematic circuit diagram of the relay coilcontrol portion of the electrical surge supply circuit showing thecontrol relay contacts and the meter relays for the low level chargefiring condition;

FIGURE 9 is a simplifed circuit diagram of the relay coil controlportion of the electrical surge supply circuit showing the control relaycontacts and meter relays for the high level charge start condition ofthe circuit;

FIGURE 10 is a simplified schematic circuit diagram of the relay coilcontrol portion of the electrical surge supply circuit showing thecontrol relay contacts and meter relays for the high level charge firingcondition of the circuit; and

FIGURE 11 is a simplified schematic circuit diagram of the relay coilcontrol portion of the electrical surge supply circuit showing thecontrol relay contacts and the meter relays for the high level chargecondition.

Description of the preferred embodiment Having more specific referencenow to FIGURES 1 through 4, I have illustrated therein apparatus 5capable of carrying out one form of my improved method for altering theconfiguration of coils 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d of a magnetic stator core16 of a fractional horsepower motor (not shown) and coils 17a, 17b, 17cand 17d of a stator core 18, the coil transforming operation having beencompleted on coils 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d of a stator core 24 and oncoils 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d of a stator core 26. In the illustratedexemplification of my invention, apparatus 5, which is capable ofpracticing one form of the improved method, includes a conveyor or othertransporting means, such as turntable 27, four load circuits 32, 33, 34and 35, a turntable drive unit 36, an electrical surge supply circuitenclosed in a housing 37, a surge supply circuit pushbutton switch 33, aturntable indexing switch 39, and fixtures 43, 44 and 45 for supportingthe motor stator coreh 16, 18, 24 and 26.

The turntable 5 is fabricated of electrically insulating material suchas fibre glass or a phenolic plastic such as Bakelite. It will be notedthat the turntable 5 is provided with eight upstanding radiallyextending partitions 47, 48, 49, 56, 57, 58, 59 and 63 defining eightpartitioned sections, four of which contain the load circuits 32, 33, 34and 35. At the electrical surge supply station a canopy 64 overhangs thepartitioned section formed by partitions 56 and 57 to provide anenclosure for the load circuit at this station. Preferably, the canopy64 is made of transparent insulating material to permit visualobservations to be made of the stator core at the electrical surgesupply station. It will be understood, of course, that the enclosureprotects the operator against possible injury in the event that a coilshorts out or some other mishap occurs at the electrical surge supplystation.

It will be seen that at the load circuit connection station a foot pedal65 is provided to allow the operator to open the left and rightconnectors 66 and 67 (FIG- URE 1) so that the left and right leads 68and 69 of the stator winding can be quickly connected in the loadcircuit 32. As is best seen in FIGURE 4 a connector, only one of whichis shown, consists ofa fixed jaw and a movable jaw 76. The movable jaw76 is biased by'a spring 77 into engagement with the fixed jaw 75. Apusher rod 78 attached to the movable jaw 75 extends downwardly from theturntable 27. When the foot pedal 65 is depressed at the load circuitconnection station, the pusher rod 78 is actuated by a pneumatic piston79 (shown in phantom outline) located at the load circuit connectionstation and the movable jaws 76 are moved vertically upward to open theconnectors. With the aws 75,76 in the open position, the lead wires fromthe stator winding are inserted between the jaws 75, 76 and when inplace the operator takes his foot off the foot pedal 65.

In the illustrative exemplification of my invention the lead wires of astator winding are connected to the connectors of a load circuit at theload circuit connection station where as yet there is no electricalconnection between the load circuit and the electrical surge supplycircuit. An electrical connection between the electrical surge supplycircuit and the lead wire is established only when the load circuit withthe stator winding connected therewith is transported to the electricalsurge supply station. At each partitioned section of the turntable 27the connectors of each load circuit are joined electrically with inputcontact members 86 which extend vertically downwardly underneath theturntable 27. These pronged contact members 86, two of which areassociated with each load circuit, engage a pair of stationary outputcontact members 87 which extend vertically upward underneath theturntable 27 at the electrical surge supply station. Thus, at theelectrical surge supply station an electrical connection is establishedbetween the electrical surge supply circuit and the load circuit. In theillustrative exemplification of my invention, the load circuit shown atthe electrical surge supply station includes a cylindrical member 88,the magnetic core 24, the coils 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d, the lead wires89, 90, leads 93, 94, the input contact members 86 and the outputcontact members 87. As is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the output contactmembers, only one of which can be seen, are connected to output leads95, 96 of the electrical surge supply circuit. It will be noted that theother load circuits 32, 33 and 35 also include a cylindrical member 97,98 and 99 respectively. These cylindrical members are made ofelectrically conductive non-magnetic material, such as copper, andproduce a repulsive efiect in the conductor turns when the coils arepulsed. Referring again to FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be seen that acardboard tube 100 is provided between the bore of the stator 24 and thecylindrical member 88. It will be appreciated that the tube 100 wasinserted in the bore after the coil insertion operation to preventconductor turns from falling out of the stator slots. Preferably, thesetubes may be left in place while the coils are being pressed back andcompacted in the improved apparatus 5 of my invention. When turntable 27is indexed to transport the load circuit 33 (see FIG- URE l) to theelectrical surge supply station, the load circuit 33 is connected withthe electricalsurge supply circuit as the input contact membersunderneath the turntable 27 engage the stationary contact members of theenergy surge supply circuit. As the turntable is indexed, the contactmembers of the load circuit moving away from the electrical surge supplystation become disengaged from the stationary contact members of theelectrical surge supply circuit.

In the illustrated exemplification of the invention the turntable 27'isrotated in a clockwise direction through degrees when the operatordepresses the index switch 39.

Any number of well-known power drive systems such as a gear motor orpneumatic motor, may be employed to drive the turntable 27. As will beseen in FIGURE 1, the index switch 39 is conveniently located at theright side of the operator. Although in the specific embodiments of myinvention I have shown the method in connection with a turntable 27 withfour load circuits, it will be appreciated that additional load circuitsmay be employed.

Before proceeding with a more detailed description of the energy surgesupply circuit, I will now describe the overall operation of theapparatus and the various steps performed by the operator in carryingout my invention. Referring again to FIGURE 1, which illustrates theapparatus with four stators in place, it will be seen that the operatorhas just placed a stator core 16 in position so that the cylindricalmember 97 extends through the stator bore. With the stator core 16 inposition, the operator then depresses the foot pedal 65 to open up thejaws of the connectors 66, 67, inserts the lead wires 68, 69 into thejaws and takes his foot off the foot pedal 65 to make a connectiontherewith. Having completed this step, he depresses the index button 39to rotate the turntable 90 degrees and bring a completed stator to theload circuit connection station. Also, at the same time a motor statorpreviously connected is rotated to the electrical surge dischargestation. When the turntable 27 stops, the operator depresses thepushbutton switch 38 to initiate the operation of the electrical surgesupply circuit. The operator again depresses the foot pedal 65 to openthe jaws of the connectors in order to disconnect the lead wires of thewinding of the stator core which has just been transported to the loadcircuit connection station. The stator core is removed from thecylindrical member and is placed on a conveyor or other transportingmeans so that the motor stator can be moved to another location whereother manufacturing operations can be carried out on the stator core.The operator places another motor stator requiring coil transformingoperations on the cylindrical member and depresses the foot pedal 65 toconnect the main winding of this stator core in the load circuit. Duringthis period, the electrical surge supply circuit has injected a firstand a second surge of electrical energy into the coils. The first surgeof electrical energy effects a press back of the conductor turns intothe slots at an energy level 'sufiicient to effect the movement of thewires without shorting conductors adjacent to the uninsulated parts ofthe stator core. The second surge of electrical energy effects acompaction of the conductors in the stator slots and brings about thedesired pressback of the end turns,

Normally the removal of the stator from the load circuit at the loadcircuit connection station and the placement of a new stator core shouldrequire no more time than is required to inject the two surgessuccessively through the stator winding at the electrical surge supplystation. Accordingly, by the time the operator has positioned andsecured a new stator core in the load circuit the coil transformingoperations on the coils of the motor stator at the electrical surgesupply station will have been completed, and the operator can press theindex pushbutton 39 to again rotate the turntable 27 through 90 degreesand to commence another cycle of operation.

Having more specific reference now to FIGURES 5 to 11, I will now morefully describe the electrical surge supply circuit which is adapted toinject a first surge of electrical energy into the stator winding of theexemplification by discharging a capacitor bank consisting of capacitorsC C and C charged to a preselected voltage level, charging the capacitorbank to a second preselected level, and discharging the capacitor bankto inject a second surge of electrical energy. It was found that a firstpreselected low level charge of about 1,000 volts and a high levelcharge of 2,000 volts was sufiicient to provide the desired alterationsin the configuration of the coils. The energy level which must beinjected into the winding will depend upon a number of factors such asthe wire size, the overall geometry of the coils, the type of wireinsulation, and the configuration of the cylindrical member of the loadcircuit.

The high energy rate surges or pulses are obtained by discharging acapacitor bank consisting of the capacitors C C and C The energy levelof the capacitor bank is sensed by two meter relays M and M The signalcoils 102, 103 of the meter relays M and M are connected in series withresistors R and R respectively, and with ground G thereby placing theserially connected relay meter M and resistor R and the seriallyconnected meter relay M and resistor R in parallel with each otheracross the capacitor bank. The resistors R and R are used to reduce thecurrent flow through the meter relays M and M to signal current values.

As will hereinafter be more fully explained, the relay meter M wasadjusted to establish the low charge level to which the capacitor bankis charged while relay meter M is adjusted to establish the high chargelevel. The meter relay M has a high and a low limit setting. The lowlimit (low voltage) settin is reached when the meter pointer 104 engagescontact 105 while the high limit (high voltage) setting of meter relay Mis reached when the voltage charge on the capacitor bank reaches apreselected high level wherein the meter pointer 104 engages the metercontact 106. Similarly, the engagement of the meter pointer 107 withmeter contacts 108 and 109 determines the low and high limits of meterrelay M Low limit of meter relay M is set slightly higher than the lowerlimit of the meter relay M to insure that during the capacitor dischargecycle, contact 105 is engaged by meter pointer 104 an instant beforemeter pointer 107 engages contact 108 to allow the high charge levelbranch of the control circuit to become energized after the initial discharge. I will hereinafter more fully describe how this is accomplished.Also, it should be noted that the high limit of meter relay M is setconsiderably higher than the high limit setting of meter relay M sincethe high limit setting of meter relay M determines the energy level towhich the capacitor bank is charged.

As will be seen in FIGURE 5, input terminals 110, 111 are connected witha standard three-conductor cord having a three pronged plug 112 forinsertion in a standard grounded type receptacle of a volt, 60 cyclepower source. In the interest of simplification, I have not shown in theschematic circuit diagram of FIGURE 5 a time delayed on-ofi' switcharrangement which is normally used in circuits utilizing hot cathodemercury rectifiers to insure that the cathodes of the rectifiers D D andD are heated before plate voltage is applied. It will be understood, ofcourse, that the primary windings P P of the filament transformers T Tmust be energized for a fixed interval of time (about 30 seconds) beforethe charging circuit is energized to allow the cathodes of therectifiers D D and D to warm up. A suitable circuit arrangement forinsuring that this time delay is provided is shown in United StatesPatent No. 3,333,328 granted to R. G. Rushing on Aug. 1, 1967, andassigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

An electrical energy surge is provided at the output terminals 95, 96 byswitching an ignitron S into conduction when the capacitor bank C C andC is charged to a predetermined level. The second ignitron S is utilizedto suppress large oscillatory voltages that might shorten the life ofthe capacitors C C and C When a damped oscillatory condition occurs, thepolarity of the voltage across the output terminals 95, 96 reverses tocause the voltage on the plate of rectifier D to become positive andrectifier D conducts thereby causing a positive potential to be appliedat the starter rod 114 of ignitron S Ignitron S is fired and provides apath for reverse current flow which shunts the capacitor bank C C and CIgnitrons S and S used in the exemplification of the invention weremercury-pool cathode-arc rectifiers with starter rods 113,

114 respectively immersed in a mercury pool. When a positive potentialis applied at a starter rod of an ignitron, sparking occurs at thejunction of the rod and mercury pool causing a cathode spot to form, andthe ignitron is switched into conduction.

' It will be seen from the schematic circuit diagram shown in FIGUREthat two parallel-connected variable control autotransformers T and Tcontrol the voltage applied across the primary winding P of atransformer T In order to limit the peak current in the primary windingP a choke L is provided in series with the primary winding P To providea full-wave rectified current for charging the capacitors C C and C apair of high voltage rectifiers D and D are connected across thesecondary winding S in a well-known full-wave rectifier configuration.The full-wave rectified output is brought out at the center tap 116 ofthe secondary winding S The rectifiers D and D alternately conduct asthe polarity of the input voltage across the primary winding P changes.

A capacitor C in the firing circuit of ignitron S is also charged duringthe operating condition of the capacitor discharge circuit through avoltage divider consisting of resistors R and R Two leads 117, 118 arebrought out from the firing circuit to control relay CR When contacts 62are closed, capacitor Cg is discharged to provide a positive signal atthe starter rod 113 of ignitron S A resistor R is connected in thefiring circuit C; in order to control the discharge rate of thecapacitor C As is-shown in FIGURE 5, the electrical surge supply circuitconsists of a control circuit portion and a capacitor discharge circuitportion, the supply lines 119, 120 being shown as heavy lines. Thecontrol circuit portion includes meter relays M M relays CR CR CR and CRwhich are controlled by the relay meters M and M and four additionalcontrol relays CR CR CR and CR It will be seen in FIGURE 5 that thecontrol portion of the circuit is coupled with the capacitor dischargecircuit by means of the signal coils 102, 103 of meter relays M and Mrelay contacts 62 and relay contacts 55 and 85. Signal coil 102 of meterrelay M is used in the low charge level branch of the control circuitwhile signal coil 103 of meter relay M comes into play to sense the highcharge level of the capacitor bank. During the standby condition thefilament transformers T and T are energized and the cathodes of therectifiers D D and D are heated. However, the primaries P P P of thevariable transformers T T and transformer T are not energized. Sincethere is no current flow in the capacitor discharge portion of thecircuit, the meter pointers 104, 107 on the meter relays M and M will bein the low limit positions wherein meter pointer 104 engages contact 105and the meter pointer 107 engages contact 108. The coils 10 and 30 ofcontrol relays CR and CR are energized because in the standby conditionthe low limit switches (meter pointer 104, contact 105 and meter pointer107, contact 108) are closed and coils 10, 30 are connected across thesupply lines 119, 17.0. In the standby condition the electrical surgesupply circuit is ready to be energized by depressing the pushbuttonswitch 38. g

It should be noted that the relay contact 62 is normally open and thatto fire the ignitron 5 control relay coil 60 has to be energized.Control relay contacts 55 of the control relay 5 are normally open andwhen closed cause the voltage of the autotransformer T to be appliedacross the primary winding P to start the low level charge condition.For the high level charge condition relay contacts 85 of the controlrelay 8, which are normally open, apply the voltage of theautotransformer T across the primary winding P of transformer T to startthe high level charge condition of the circuit.

By way of a more specific illustration of an energy surge supply circuitused in the practice of the invention, the following identifiedcomponents may be used in the circuit illustrated in FIGURE 5, as areparticularly identified below:

Component identification: Specification of the components VariableAutotransformers T T General Electric 9H60LA10K. Transformer T StancorP8034. Rectifiers D D D Mercury Vapor 872A. Filament transformer TStancor 5 volt, l5 ampere P6433. Filament transformer T Stancor 5 volt,IO'ampere P6135. Ignitrons S S GL5550. Capacitors C C C 210 microfarads,5 kV. Capacitor C .05 microfarad, 3000 volts; Choke L Stancor C2688.Resistors R R 5 megohms, 5 watts. Resistor R 3 megohms. Resistor R 2megohms. Resistor R 10 ohms, 10 watts. Meter relay M Assembly Products,Inc. Control relay CR CR Optical Meter Relay. Meter relay M Assembly O1milliampere range.

Control relays CR CR}. double set point.

Having more specific reference now to the simplified schematic circuitdiagrams as shown in FIGURES 6 through 11, I will now more fullydescribe the operation of the control circuit portion. In FIGURE 6 Ihave illustrated a simplified schematic diagram for the standbycondition of the control circuit portion. The simplified schematicdiagram includes all of the relay contacts in the circuit shown inFIGURE 5 with the exception of those that are in the capacitor dischargecircuit portion, relay contact 55, relay contact 85, and relay contact62.

In all of the simplified circuit diagrams shown in FIG- URES 6 through11 the control circuit portion includes eight branches which I haveidentified in the drawings as the low charge level branch, firingcontrol branch, change level control branch, high charge level branch,low charge sensing (low point) branch, low charge sensing (high point)branch, high charge sensing (low point) branch, and the high chargesensing (high point) branch.

In the standby condition of the circuit shown in FIG- URE 6 the meterrelays M and M are at their low point positions with the meter pointers104, 107 engaging the contacts 105, 108 thereby placing the coils 10 and30 across the alternating current supply lines 119', 120. Except for therelay contacts 11 which appear in the firing control branch of thecontrol circuit and relay contacts 31 which are in the high chargebranch, all of the other relay contacts are in their normal positions.

As will be seen in FIGURE 6, the low charge level branch includespushbutton switch 38, relay contacts 71, relay contacts 81, and relaycoil connected in series across the alternating current supply. Contacts53 are connected in shunt across pushbutton switch 38 so that when thepushbutton switch 38 is momentarily depressed by the operator, relaycoil 50 is energized to 'close'the normally open relay contacts 53.Relay coil 50 will remain energized until either of the normally closedrelay contacts 71 or 81 are opened. With relay coil 50 energized, itwill be appreciated that relay contacts connect the autotransformer Tacross the power supply and transformer T of the capacitor dischargecircuitis energized.

Turning now to the firing control branch, this branch circuit includesthree normally closed relay contacts 11, 82 and 51 in series with relaycoil.60 across the alternating current supply. It will be noted thatrelay contacts 11 as shown inFIGURE 5 are in the open position sincerelay coil 10 is energized during the slandby condition." Relay contacts42 are connected in shunt with "contacts 11 and 72 and are actuatedmeter relay M when the meter pointer 107 reaches the high'pointposition. Thus relay contacts'42 come into play toenergize coil 60during the high level charge firing condition of the circuit.

When relay coil 60 is energized, it will be appreciated that relaycontacts 62 connected in series with starter rod of the ignitron S areclosed and the ignitron S is triggered into conduction, Relay coil 60 isenergized at the end of the low level charge period through a path whichincludes the four relay contacts 11, 72, 82 and 51. The normally closedrelay contacts 82 and 51 are provided in the firing control branch toinsure that the relay coil 60 is not energized during either the highlevel or the low level charging periods of the capacitor dischargecircuit.

Referring now more particularly to the change level control branch, itwill be seen that this branch includes a normally open relay contact 54,a normally closed relay contact 21, and one set of normally closed relaycontacts 83 in series with control winding 70. Also, the normally openrelay contacts 73 are connected in shunt with relay contacts 21 and 54.As will hereinafter be more fully explained, the change level controlbranch circuit comes into play only during the low level charge firingcondition and implements the start of the high level charge c cle.

The high charge level branch circuit includes one set of normally opencontacts 74 and four normally closed relay contacts in series with relaycoil 80 across the alternating current supply, and relay contacts 84 areconnected in shunt across the relay contacts 31 and 74. It will be notedthat, as shown in FIGURE 6, relay contacts 31 are in the open positionbecause relay coil 30 is energized in the standby condition. Relaycontacts 41 serve to disconnect the high charge level branch from thepower supply when the capacitor bank is charged up to a preselected highlevel. The manner in which this is accomplished will be more fullydescribed in connection with the description of the high level of chargecondition of the circuit. Relay contacts 61 function as a momentaryswitch to initiate the high level charge start condition, and relaycontacts 84 provide a shunt path around the relay contacts 31 and 74during the high level charge conditon. In order to insure that the highcharge level branch circuit is not energized while the low charge levelbranch is energized, the normally closed contacts 52 are placed inseries with relay coil 80.

In order to more fully explain the operation of the control circuit Iwill now describe the various control conditions of the circuit as areshown in FIGURES 6 to 11. Let us assume that the operator depresses thepushbutton 38, the control circuit portion being in the standbycondition as shown in FIGURE 6. Relay coil 50 of the low charge levelbranch is energized and relay contacts 55 are actuated (see FIGURE to aclosed position to connect the autotransformer T across supply lines 119and 120 thereby applying a voltage of preselected magnitude across theprimary winding P of transformer T The capacitor bank is now beingcharged and the pointers 104 and 107 have been moved away from their lowpoint position out of engagement with contacts 105 and 108 and are shownin an intermediate position. Relay coils 10 and 30 are now de-energized.As a result, relay contacts 11 in the firing control branch and relaycontacts 31 in the high charge level branch are closed. The only branchcircuit energized during the low level charge condition is the lowcharge level branch. With relay coil 50 energized, it will be seen thatrelay contacts 51 in the firing control branch are open, relay contacts54 in the charge level control branch are closed, and the relay contacts52 in the high charge level branch are open.

When the capacitor bank reaches a preselected low level charge, thepointer 104 of the meter relay M engages contact 106. As is shown inFIGURE 8, with the pointer 104 now in this position, relay coil isenergized. Control relay CR actuates contacts 21 to energized the changelevel control branch, and with current flowing through the relay coil 70relay contacts 71 are actuated to the open position therebydisconnecting relay coil 50 from the power supply circuit. Relaycontacts 51 in the firing control branch are closed and accordingly,current now flow through the relay coil 60 and control relay CR isactuated to close relay contacts 62 in the firing circuit to fireignitron S and discharge the capacitor bank. It will be noted that inthe change level control branch, relay contacts 54 have been actuated toan open position and relay contacts 73 have been actuated to a closedposition. In the high charge level branch, contacts 74 are closed,contacts 61 are opened, and relay contacts 52 are closed.

When the capacitor bank discharges, the voltage drops quickly and thepointer 104 of the meter relay M falls to the low point limit positionto engage the low limit contact 105 and energize coil 10. It will beappreciated that the low limit setting of meter relay M is slightlygreater than the low limit setting of the meter relay M Thus the pointerof the relay meter M does not engage low limit contact 108 until aninstant after the pointer 104 of the meter relay M engages its low limitcontact 105. With relay coil 10 energized the control circuit is in thehigh level charge. start condition as shown inFIG- URE 9. Relay CRactuates relay contacts 11 to the open position thereby opening thefiring control branch circuit to de-energize relay coil 60. Controlrelay CR actuates relay contacts 61 in the high charge level branch toenergize relay coil thereby closing shunt relay contacts 84 and alsoclosing contacts 85 (see FIGURE 5) to cause the voltage across variabletransformer T to be applied across primary winding P of transformer TThe capacitor bank is'now being charged and when the voltage across thecapacitor bank reaches a preselected high level, both pointers 104, 107of meter relays M and M will be in the high limit positon as shown inFIGURE 10. Relay coils 20 and 40 are now energized. Relay contacts 41are opened in the high charge level branch to de-energize relay CRthereby opening contacts 85 to cut off the power supplied to thecapacitor discharge circuit. Also, relay contacts 42 and 82 are closedin the firing control branch to discharge the capacitor bank.

In FIGURE 11 I have shown the control relays for the high level chargecondition of the circuit. During this condition the capacitors aredischarging but the voltage across the capacitor bank has not yet fallendown to zero. It will be seen that relay coils 20, 40 and 60 arede-energized, and relay contacts 62 in the firing circuit of ignitron Sare opened. When the voltage drops down to zero, the pointers 105, 107of the meter relays M and M will be at their low point positions, andthe control circuit will revert to the standby condition. The controlcycle can be repeated by depressing the pushbutton switch 38. Theimproved apparatus can be readily operated by one operator. Standing atthe load circuit connection station, the operator can observe the loadcircuit at the electrical surge injection station while connecting thestator core in the load circuit.

From the foregoing description of the improved method exemplifying myinvention, it will be apparent that various operations can beefficiently and safely carried out on inductive devices such as thestator cores of small electrical motors and other coil accommodatingmembers. Although in the exemplifications of my invention, the highenergy rate pulses were injected into the coils of the main statorwinding, it will be appreciated that various coil transformingoperations, such as coil shaping, pressing, compacting and placingoperations, as may be required in the process of the manufacture of aninductive device can be accomplished without necessarily connecting thecoil itself to the electrical surge supply circuit. For example, thecoils on which the coil transforming operations are to be performed canbe inductively coupled with a coil that forms part of the load circuiton the turntable. Further, it will be appreciated that although theapparatus for carrying out one form of my improved method wasillustrated in connection with a supply circuit producing two high rateenergy pulses by discharging a capacitor bank, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the apparatus may be modified to producemore than two surges and that other than a capacitor discharge circuitmay be used.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the invention. It is thereforeintended in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of myinvention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A method for effecting a coil transforming operation on at least onecoil of a magnetic core member, said method comprising the steps of:arranging a first coil and magnetic core member in a first load circuiton a turntable at a first station, while injecting at least oneelectrical surge to a second load circuit having a second coil andmagnetic core member arranged therewith; rotating said turntable,including said first load circuit, angularly away from said firststation to said second station, while returning said second load circuitto said first station; removing said second coil and magnetic coremember from said second load circuit; and arranging a third coil andmagnetic core member in said second load circuit, while injecting atleast one electrical surge through said first load circuit at saidsecond station to effect transformation of the third coil.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the second load circuit is beingmaintained within an enclosure as the at least one electrical surge isbeing injected to the second load circuit having the second coil andmagnetic core member arranged therewith.

3. A method for effecting coil transforming operations on one or moreelectrical coils of a magnetic core member for use in an inductivedevice, said method comprising the steps of: arranging at least one coiland a magnetic core member in a load circuit at a first station, saidload circuit including terminal members for connection with anelectrical surge supply circuit; transporting said load circuit withsaid at least one coil and magnetic core mem- 12 ber to a secondstation; enclosing said load circuit at said second station, andestablishing an electrical connection of the terminal members with theelectrical surge supply circuit at said second station; and injecting atleast one electrical surge through said load circuit at said secondstation to perform .a coil transforming operation on said at least onecoil.

4. The method of claim 3 in which at least onecoil is returned to thefirst station after the coil transforming operation has been completedthereon at the second station, and said at least one coilis removed fromsaid load circuit at the first station.

5. A method for effecting coil transforming operations on at least oneelectrical coil of a magnetic core member for use in an inductivedevice, said method comprising the steps of: arranging the at least onecoil and a magnetic core member in a load circuit at a load station;transporting said load circuit having said at least one coil andmagnetic core member arranged therein to an electrical surge supplystation; establishing an electrical coupling of said load circuit withan electrical surge supply circuit at said electrical surge supplyingstation; and producing at least one electrical energy surge in said loadcircuit at said electrical surge supply station to perform acoil-transforming operation on said at least one coil.

6. The method of claim 5 including the step of maintaining the loadcircuit in an enclosure, including a part thereof formed of transparentmaterial, at the electrical surge supply station while producing the atleast one electrical energy surge in the load circuit to permit visualobservation of the coil-transforming operation and to provide protectionin the event that the at least one coil shorts out during itstransformation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,333,327 8/1967 Larsen 295963,333,328 8/1967 Rushing 29596 3,333,329 8/1967 Linkous 29596 3,333,3308/1967 Linkous 29596 3,333,335 8/1967 Sims 29-596 X JOHN F. CAMPBELL,Primary Examiner.

J. L. CLINE, Assistant Examiner.

